By Ermin Garcia Jr.

 

THE continued bashing of Mayor Belen Fernandez on social media over the daily gridlock in the city is not only unfair but politically motivated to discredit her administration for the wrong reason.

She should be bashed if the drainage and road elevation projects are being pursued clearly and solely to improve CSI’s and her relatives’ business that otherwise would not prosper were it not for the projects.  In fact, mere bashing for this would be kind. She should be the subject of an administrative case before the Ombudsman.

But is that the case today, as her detractors want the public to believe? Nothing can be farther from the truth that her political enemies are afraid to acknowledge.

Here’s the truth.

1. The daily gridlock is caused by the DPWH projects in Dagupan fully funded by the national government, not by the city government’s local projects.
2. The concept and funding for the projects were made known to then Mayor Brian Lim. To his credit, he did not oppose the project and endorsed it because he obviously knew projects are the only viable solution to the seeming endless flooding in many barangays and in the business district without the city government spending for these .
3. The implementation of the elevation of the drainage system and the road would have been pursued by Mr. Lim if he won in his reelection bid.
4. To Mayor Belen’s credit, she decided to fully extend the city government’s support to the project because she also knew that the projects are what the city needs to arrest the worsening flooding in the city, because the city is already practically below sea level.

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LIFE AFTER CONSTRUCTION. The ranting, bashing sector today obviously were either not around when the city was destroyed by the 1990 earthquake, or were around but deliberately chose to forget the inconveniences they suffered during subsequent efforts to rebuild the city by constructing new roads and bridges. These required sacrifices from everyone, particularly, traveling through rough roads that slowed down traffic, fetching drinking water from elsewhere to seeking areas where their cellphones can be recharged.

Imagine if the city government officials then resorted to simply credit-grabbing and pointing fingers between city officials and the DPWH for what seemed like ages before the restoration projects could be completed.   

Fortunately, that didn’t happen because they would have been publicly taken to task after the restoration projects were completed. The city had wider streets, drainage system was restored, stronger bridges were built. Half of houses and stores were reduced by the elevation of the streets but life went on.

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DAMN THE TORPEDOES. Today’s endless bashing in Dagupan City for the inconveniences are clearly politically motivated. When road widening projects were being done in Metro Manila, anywhere here in Pangasinan and elsewhere, there were no rants and bashing directed at anyone. Residents and motorists simply accepted the inconveniences because they knew that these are what development calls for.

I can’t wait to see the faces of today’s bashers when the projects are completed and flooding in the city is greatly minimized even as the city continues to sink below sea level.

Still to Mayor Belen’s credit, she is steadfast in her support for DPWH. She could have ranted against the DPWH every day and instead is doing all to help fast track the completion of the projects.

I’m confident, that thanks to the projects today causing possibly the worst imaginable inconveniences to me and a thousand others, we will soon have a city that will greatly improve quality of life for residents for the next 10 years at the very least.

Let’s hear this from Mayor Belen: “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!!”

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STOP ONLINE GAMBLING. Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, consistent with his advocacy during the Duterte administration, called for the swift passage of the Anti-Online Gambling Act amidst persistent reports of e-sabong operations continuing in the country despite being suspended by President Marcos Jr.

This as the Committee on Games and Amusement revealed in a Senate hearing on January 25, 2024 that e-sabong continues to thrive and has evolved into smaller, more clandestine operations.

In 2022, during the height of disappearances of cockfighters and other issues linked to e-sabong, Cayetano swiftly filed Senate Bill No. 63, aimed at prohibiting all forms of online gambling and penalizing online wagering or betting.

“The pull of gambling, especially over the internet, makes it more alluring for our kababayan who cannot help but engage in such activities desperately hoping to immediately win large sums of money,” the independent senator said.

“Online gambling platforms such as e-sabong have demonstrated how it can destroy the moral fiber of our nation,” he added.

Then-President Rodrigo Duterte had terminated the operations of e-sabong in May 2022, citing its “social impact” on the people. This followed persistent calls from Cayetano about the evils of the game, which he had opposed both in the House of Representatives and in the Senate.

Duterte’s policy against e-sabong was continued by President Marcos Jr., who ordered its continued suspension in December 2022.

Despite these measures, police have had their hands full arresting hundreds of individuals engaged in clandestine e-sabong nationwide.

Cayetano’s bill proposes imposing maximum penalties, including imprisonment and fines for violators. It mandates, for instance, the dismissal of public employee offenders from service, permanent disqualification from holding public office, and prohibits them from voting or participating in elections.

The independent senator stressed that prohibiting such activities nationwide — as his home City of Taguig has done — is key to progress.

“Wala pong sugal sa Taguig. Ipinagbawal po namin ang casino pagdating ni [Mayor] Lani. May gusto ring magtayo ng sabungan at nag-donate pa ng lupa. Nung hindi po namin pinayagan, doon po umusbong ang Fort Bonifacio kung saan ngayon ay central business district ng ating bansa,” he said.

Maintaining his firm stance against e-sabong and all forms of gambling, Cayetano stressed that preventing the erosion of Filipino values and ensuring a brighter future for next generations are “a moral obligation” for everyone.

“It is our duty as God-fearing people to raise future generations in a morally upright environment, and to protect them from the evils and dangers that come with gambling, greed, and all the other vices that go along with it,” he said. #

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